Trust
by mispatch
Summary: Marcus thinks it's time for a change in facial hair. Kabby.
A gentle splash.

Fresh water running through one's fingers.

The soft drip of water being rung out from a towel.

The sounds were oddly soothing to Marcus. There was a time two months ago when there wasn't a moment to breathe. Now, months after ALIE's downfall, Marcus could bring himself to stop and listen…and appreciate the sounds of Earth again.

Marcus sat on a reclined chair in medical, looking up at the metal ceiling. Beside him, the sounds of the water (that Marcus was so meticulously filing away in his memory) had stopped. Now, he could hear the last few smooth swishes of metal on leather and Jackson murmuring next door.

A figure brought over a large container of water and placed it on the table beside him. At the same time, Jackson entered the room.

"Here you go, Abby."

Jackson handed the stainless steel straight razor over to Abby and swiftly exited. Silence. Then the hum of Jackson speaking to patients next door resumed.

"It's been a while," Abby commented. She smiled as she stood by the top of Marcus' head as he sat.

"I suppose it has," Marcus replied. "I guess I lost track of time with…with everything that was going on."

Abby tightly wrung out a small towel in the water and gently placed it on Marcus' beard.

"It's warm," she cautioned. Abby folded the towel in her hands and slowly patted it over his neck, being careful to reach the places she had missed.

Abby placed the towel on the table and gently pressed Marcus' cheeks and neck with her fingers. Satisfied that she had warmed his skin enough, Abby took a generous amount of shaving cream into her hands. She made a mental note to make more once the plants were available again.

Gentle hands ran across Marcus' beard, smoothing the shaving cream all the way down to his neck. It might have been Marcus' imagination, but Abby's fingers lingered for just a moment longer than necessary underneath his jaw, feeling the curve of his face.

Marcus looked up at the woman standing above him. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail, save for the honey coloured tendrils framing her face. Her eyes were the colour of smoked topaz, encasing a burning fire within. And her smile…her smile could light up the world, and this one was just for him.

Abby reached for the straight razor and opened it up in her hands. She looked back at Marcus and smiled even wider.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, teasingly.

Marcus blinked. He had been staring. _Again_.

"Nothing," he said hastily.

Abby laughed softly. "Well, I guess there isn't really much for you to look at."

She was wrong. Marcus was looking at the woman who had become his world.

Abby leaned down and placed the razor blade at his cheek. The fingertips of her other hand lay just below the blade, lightly pulling the skin taut. Carefully, the blade skimmed against his in small, upward motions.

Medical had become silent now. It was late enough at night that the patients had gone to sleep and Jackson was busying himself with nightly inventory. The only sounds were the soft scratches on his skin, followed by a silent pause to wipe the blade.

Abby finished his cheeks and was making her way along his jaw when she started to hum softly. Marcus listened, savoring this side of Abby Griffin. She seemed…happy. And happiness was rare on the ground.

Abby paused as she wiped the blade on the cloth. She looked down at Marcus and reached out to push away a stray hair. As she did so, Abby's fingers followed through and tenderly ran through the length of his hair.

Abby placed one hand underneath his jaw and tilted his head slightly backwards. The cool metal met Marcus' throat and delicately ran up his neck. As she worked, Marcus closed his eyes. In some strange way, he actually felt at ease. He felt Abby's warm fingers on his neck and trusted her completely with a blade at his throat. Marcus would not allow anybody else on Earth or in space so close in such an intimate position.

Slowly, she continued to work her way across his neck, humming away softly. Marcus realized that she was humming a familiar childhood tune. One that sang every child to sleep on the Ark at one point in their lives. Abby had heard it, Marcus had heard it, Clarke, Raven, Bellamy, Octavia had heard it. Marcus hadn't heard the song in decades, and it delighted him to hear it again. Abby continued until she completed her task.

The soft knock of the blade being placed on the table prompted Marcus to open his eyes. Abby placed her hands on Marcus' clean-shaven neck and smoothed her fingers upwards. She ran her fingers up his neck, across his jaw to the sides of his face where she cupped his cheeks.

"Am I all done?" Marcus asked. Abby gave him a quick smile.

"Not yet," she answered.

Abby leaned down and placed a loving kiss on his lips. Marcus put his hands on top of hers, which were gently caressing the sensitive skin on his face, feeling the new-found area. Abby kissed his bottom lip and pulled back enough to meet Marcus' eyes again.

"Now you're done."


End file.
